#and merc and two of the best chapter suits ever... need them asap

[nikkiissleepy]

new idea lab recolours?? yellow nightwitch... i want to eat the dress

[nothisis-ridiculous]

Duplicity

An AU where Kaidan joins Cerberus for the events of ME2.

Chapter Four- Offering

~~~

Garrus's mandibles gently clicked beside him, the rush of air becoming grating as they waited for the boarding party to be free of the Purgatory. In usual Shepard style, the whole thing has gone down in flames- and almost in record time.

The crew left behind on the deck was hardly surprised when EDI had announced the shift of events. A brave Warden was biting off more than he could chew in his attempt to take Shepard as a prisoner. A rookie mistake for anyone thinking that the old legend was just a legend.

It wouldn't stop Kaidan from worrying,

Garrus, the newly awoken Krogan, Jacob, and Kaidan had charged into the dock before the Normandy had a chance of being disconnected from the starship. EDI waged her war with her host of programming suites, and the ground team had their mission- reconnecting the Normandy. So by the time that the rest had returned from getting Jack, they could be off this ship. If the mission went according to the rules set by most others, it would be going down in flames.

The four had quickly taken over control of the ship despite Jack's efforts to tear the vessel apart. Grunt paced in the corner of the room, stopping to kick at the pile of bodies again just to make sure they stayed dead. Jacob typed furiously on his Omni-Tool likely relaying a message to the Illusive Man about the progress of this mission, and they betrayal by the Blue-Sun Mercs.

That left Garrus and Kaidan to look over the video feeds, helping in what little ways they could. It was nearly useless as Jack ripped through walls with nothing but her biotics, even if they did try to direct her toward Shepard or the Normandy.

Garrus's mandibles clacked again, before he drew in a sharper breath, "I was expecting you to be the last person to ever work for Cerberus."

Kaidan's eyebrow raised. "Life has a funny way of changing things."

The Turian huffed, not getting the response or answer he wanted, "After I heard you had been kicked from the Alliance I would have thou-"

"Batman wasn't a Turian, either," he replied bitterly.

Garrus cocked his head, "Batman?"

"Old Earth superhero defended Gotham City from criminals because no one else could or would," Kaidan relaxed, "outside of the law, of course. All you need is a sidekick in revealing spandex."

"I'm sure it would be funnier if I got the reference," Garrus still chuckled, "All I can imagine is Wrex in spandex."

They both shivered.

Kaidan's eyes returned to the screen, watching Mary bend down to gather up heat clips. His gaze rested on the curve of her ass, traveling up her back to rest on her smirking lips her eyes lighting as she made the Salarian laugh. Miranda shook her head, pretending as ever not to be amused by Shepard's antics. Mary ran a hand through her short hair, before looking straight into the camera. But her hold only lasted a second as they moved for the next room.

"So, uh, things back to normal for you two?" The Turian prodded.

"Are you interested in Shepard?"

Garrus paused, eyes widened as far as they could manage, "She's a nice female, sturdy waist, but one I think is rather involved with someone else. I've never considered a.."

Garrus coughed, then ended his sentence as Kaidan grinned. It was hard to tell when a human was joking. This was one of those times.

"I was just asking because-" Garrus rubbed the back of his neck, "things are tense."

"It turns out Mary doesn't like working for the organization that killed her entire unit," his words returning to dry.

Kaidan wasn't really aggravated by the Turian, Garrus meant the best. Thre three of them has been unstoppable in the days against Saren. Their individual strengths complemented each other in the best ways; Mary was the talker as they both tended to be a little more awkward. While they could deal with any of the technology Shepard did not have the patience for. It went further than that, as they could work together seamlessly without the use of words. Kaidan and Mary would draw the line of fire while Garrus relocated to get a better view of the field. Mary would charge across the field to sandwich in the enemies without the need to declare her intentions over their headsets.

It had been much simpler then. It was an impossible task to prove any enemy that the council would not believe in, but it seemed possible then. Brighter. Kaidan hadn't remembered feeling more alive than he had in those short months. He missed it. He missed the old crew. The Alliance. He missed Mary.

"I'm just worried about old friends is all, I heard Mary passed out the night before you guys got to me," Garrus murmured softly, turning his back to the human. Pretending to find interest in the panels behind them.

"You know Mary, she pushed herself too hard," Kaidan shuffled, "I haven't been exactly open about what happened after she, she died. We haven't talked either."

"It might make her feel better, or it might make her kick your ass harder," Garrus's claw gently touched Kaidan's arm, "either way, tell her before she has to read about it on the extranet."

"And you better get back on the Normandy before she finds out you were out of the med bay," Kaidan teased in the attempt to get away from the uncomfortable conversation.

"At least I won't be the only one scrubbing toilets with my toothbrush."

Kaidan snorted, "Then we better get going."

~~~

"Uhhh, Alenko?" Joker's voice cut through the intercom.

"Yes, Joker?"

"Commander wants you up in her quarters, asap-"

The click at the end of his message demonstrated how little Joker wanted to be involved in this feud. Perhaps it didn't mean anything that EDI had not delivered the message either, but Kaidan got the feeling the AI was angry at him for his part in attempting to destroy the cargo bay. EDI had kept them apart when possible, claiming a 'malfunction' whenever one of them was near the exit of the elevator. He pretended not to notice.

Leaving behind the screen he had been working on; he made the awkward journey through the command deck. Chambers looked at him with pity, her words fighting behind a clenched jaw. Kaidan couldn't fight the dark frown that formed on his face as the pitying green eyes watched him enter the shaft. Kaidan was glad when the doors finally closed and left him a moment of privacy. He felt a confusing mixture of anger and calm. Both welling up in him at the same degree, he hoped things could be settled between them- and at the same time he prepared for Mary to throw another tantrum.

The elevator clicked as it arrived at the Commander's private quarters, the door left wide open for him to walk through. Mary wasn't standing in the first section either. Instead, her private terminals were open. A picture of a man with black hair and very familiar eyebrows stared at him with a big tagline. On her personal PDA, another image and another line typed in bolded capital letters. And a third and fourth device from elsewhere stacked on the desk, all with different stories and words he knew too well.

Mary's throat cleared to announce her presence. Her shoulder leaning into the beam that worked as a divider between the two rooms. One had held two glasses, and another a bottle of whiskey. Some things never changed.

"Do you want to explain this before a drink, or after?" her words practiced and monotone.

"How about over drinks?"

The Commander nodded, pivoting tightly on her heel. A few long steps transported her to the corner couch. The glasses set down and poured, finally setting the bottle between them. Kaidan took the seat at the opposite corner of the table, watching Mary take the first sip of the bitter liquid before he took his own drink.

"I'll, um," Kaidan cleared his throat, unsure of how to start this conversation. Her eyes narrowed, but her judgment was left unreadable, "I was hoping to talk to you once things had cooled down."

Mary's eyes closed tightly, "You didn't think I would use the extranet?"

"It's not like you, M-ma'am."The Commander huffed, pale blue eyes rolling. The corner of her lip fluttered, unable to completely suppress her amusement. "Wh-what made you look?"

Mary's face turned to a complete frown, "They both looked at you like they were seeing a dead person."

Kaidan didn't need to answer. Both meant Tali and Garrus. They likely knew the situation but didn't dare to speak about it. Fearing what awkwardness they would rehash by bringing it up in front of two previously thought long gone friends.

Mary sat quietly, a hand pressed into the cushion, while the over slung over the back of the headboard. Her eyes didn't leave him, watching each inflection on his face. Her pupils narrowed on any part of him that moved, readying herself to strike. The woman looked relaxed but was far from it. Waiting for his words to come was surely testing her burning patience. But it was Mary's way to only prod when it came to tendered revelations- even if it caused her ire to stir.

Kaidan was allowed another sip before Shepard broke the moment of silence.

"Red sand, really Alenko?" those words outside of this room would be sharp and hurled at him, but in this safe place, they were gentle, concerned.

Kaidan snorted, drawing a perplexed look from Mary, "I'm surprised that upset you the most."

"What else should bother me?"

"That, that's the Shepard I knew," he knew his laughter would infuriate her.

"What's so damn funny, Alenko?"

"You didn't read the entire article."

The whole bottom half of her face lit into a smile, eyes rolling. Guilty. Before she could replace it with a frown, Kaidan had caught it.

"I would start explaining," Mary threatened weakly.

It was about time he had. It would be easier to have this hurdle cleared. Perhaps things would get back to normal, or he would be kicked from the ship. Both had benefits and drawbacks that he had already started to process. She was alive. That was enough. She was still Mary. That was more than enough.

"We were all grounded after Alchera. The aliens sent home, and the rest of Alliance personnel stationed back on Earth. The investigation took months, and none of us who lived were able to leave- except for the Memorial for all those lost on the Normandy. Joker got fired. And I was stationed back in Vancouver and given the job of training a few potential biotics back at home," Kaidan paused to look back up at Mary. His hands fidgetted with one another in his lap.

He continued after giving her ample time to interrupt, "I was a mess. It took me, well, longer than I would admit to adjust. I wasn't ready to stop fighting or to stop going after the Reapers. Shepard, I-I couldn't sleep, and the migraines got worse, so I drank until I passed out most nights. I had seen things, and nobody believed me. They separated all of us that were left to shut us up."

Mary nodded. Before the Collector attack, she was already fighting to keep the team together.

"Eventually, after you don't show up, or show up late enough times they start asking you questions... then they take discharge you."

Mary's pupils narrowed, but she refrained from belittling him. Lips pursing before easing into another frown.

"After you get discharged, you find other ways to keep your ass off of the street."

His dry approach was not sitting well, as her eyebrows pinched together. But her eyes held pity, and her lip quivered gently. It was a lot for her to process.

"Shepard?" He asked, after taking notice of her next sip that emptied her glass.

"It's, it's a lot to take in," Mary sighed heavily, "we lost a lot of men fighting Saren. Good men. I must have been hard to cope-"

"I hadn't lost anyone I loved," he inserted softly.

The couch was lucky Mary had already finished her drink, the glass toppling to the cushion as she abandoned the piece of furniture entirely. He had pushed the thin film of Mary's patience that remained, and she quickly unraveled. Emotions weren't her strong suit and being hit so squarely with it was cruel of him. He regretted that those feelings were held so tightly in his throat. They begged to come out and clawed to escape the prison in they were bound. It was sweet to have them finally voice, like some secret he didn't want to contain. Bitter because of the turmoil he knew it would make Mary face.

Her fingers ground into the base of her skull, trying to destroy the ghost itch.

"Kaidan, I-," her sigh bordered on a growl, a scream, "I think I've heard enough for today."

He set down the drink, moving quickly before the events in the cargo bay repeated.

"Wait," Mary's hand gripped his wrist, "Why Cerberus?"

"They offered you."